(Reuters) – German retail sales rose more than expected in May from the previous month, data showed on Friday, though analysts said the surprise rise does not indicate a change in depressed spending. The Federal Statistics Office said retail sales were up 0.4% month-on-month in real terms, beating expectations by analysts polled by Reuters that…
By Ariba Shahid (Reuters) -The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reached a staff-level pact with Pakistan on a $3 billion stand-by arrangement, the lender said, a decision long awaited by the South Asian nation which is teetering on the brink of default. The deal, subject to approval by the IMF board in July, comes after…
By Kirsty Needham SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian and European Union trade ministers spoke on Thursday evening, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters, as optimism builds that sticking points over a free trade agreement (FTA) can be overcome with more negotiation. A trade deal with the EU, a market of around 450 million consumers,…
By Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Christine King Farris, the sister of slain U.S. civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr and a prominent activist herself, died on Thursday at the age of 95. Farris died peacefully in Atlanta, Georgia, with her family by her side, according to the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change in…
By Lucy Craymer WELLINGTON (Reuters) – New Zealand is carefully managing its relationship with China and must avoid getting pulled from “pillar and post” amid the strategic rivalry between China and the United States, the Pacific nation’s foreign minister said on Friday. Nanaia Mahuta’s comments come as Chris Hipkins nears the end of a six-day…
By Marc Jones LONDON (Reuters) – The first six months of 2023 have been eventful for financial markets – from an artificial intelligence (AI) inspired tech stock surge, commodity market capitulations, cryptocurrency comebacks to the worst banking crash since Lehman Brothers. Linking it all has been the relentless rise in interest rates, which was exactly…
By Andrew Gray and Julia Payne BRUSSELS (Reuters) -European Union leaders declared on Thursday they would make long-term commitments to bolster Ukraine’s security as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged them to start work on a new round of sanctions against Russia. At a summit in Brussels, the leaders restated their condemnation of Russia’s war against Ukraine…
By Arathy Somasekhar and Muyu Xu (Reuters) -Oil prices stayed steady on Friday with Brent poised for its first monthly gain this year, as a big drawdown in U.S. oil stocks outweighed concerns that fuel demand will be dented further by more interest rate rises. Brent crude futures for September delivery rose 4 cents or…
By Joe Cash BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s factory activity declined for a third straight month in June and weakness in other sectors deepened, official surveys showed on Friday, adding pressure for authorities to do more to shore up growth as demand falters at home and abroad. The world’s second-largest economy grew faster than expected in the…
By Jose Luis Gonzalez and Steve Gorman TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, New Mexico (Reuters) -A three-man crew from Italy soared more than 50 miles (80 km) above the New Mexico desert on Thursday aboard a Virgin Galactic rocket plane, the company’s first flight of paying customers to the edge of space since British billionaire Richard Branson…
